Barry Jenkins To Direct Alvin Ailey Film

Barry Jenkins is set to direct a film based on the life of Alvin Ailey, one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th Century, according to Deadline.

The untitled film is from FOX Searchlight, who made a deal early last year with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater which granted full cooperation from the organization that controls the rights to Ailey's choreography.

Julian Breece will write the film's script and Judy Kinberg, Adele Romanski, Rachel Cohen, and Alicia Keys are producing. The movie is a co-production between AK Worldwide Media, iDeal Partners, and Jenkin's PASTEL. Jenkins will executive produce alongside Jana Edelbaum and Susan Lewis.

Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for Moonlight. Most recently, he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for If Beale Street Could Talk. He also wrote the script for Twelve, the feature adaptation of the documentary 12 O'Clock Boys.

Ailey was an African-American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Ailey School in New York City. He received THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS in 1988. In 2014, President Barack Obama selected Ailey to be a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Read the original article on Deadline.